The Band - "Once Upon a Time"

The usual storyline when a band breaks up involves a lot of acrimony and bitterness. That wasn't the case with The Band. Yes, there were some grumblings toward the end of the original lineup, but in general, the members remained on good terms. They even threw a farewell concert bash in 1976 with a bunch of celebrity friends.

Eventually, some of the band members would reunite, but I wanted to consider what an album might have been like had The Band not bid adieu.

SIDE A
1. Washer Woman
2. What a Town
3. New Mexicoe
4. Blues So Bad
5. Sing, Sing, Sing (Let's Make a Better World) 

SIDE B
1. Java Blues
2. Sip the Wine
3. Milk Cow Boogie
4. Shake It
5. Once Upon a Time

Rick Danko was the first Band member to issue a solo album (self-titled), and each of his former band members performed on one song each. So I've included all four. Garth Hudson played accordion on "New Mexicoe," Robbie Robertson played lead guitar on "Java Blues," Richard Manuel played piano on "Shake It," and Levon Helm sang harmony on "Once Upon a Time."

Levon Helm's 1977 solo debut, Levon Helm and the RCO All-Stars included the track "Sing, Sing, Sing (Let's Make a Better World)," which featured Robertson on guitar and Hudson on accordion. 

Robertson didn't record a solo album until 1987, Hudson didn't release a solo album until 2001, and Manuel never released a solo album while he was alive, so we don't have anything from them other than the contributions they made to the above-listed tracks. 

So, to complete the album, we need to use more Danko and Helm songs. Since both of their albums had 10 tracks, I decided to keep this Band album that way.

From Helm's album, I included "Washer Woman" because it was the opening track, "Blues So Bad" because it's the only song on the album that Helm co-wrote, and a cover of "Milk Cow Boogie," which Helm arranged and was issued as a single.

From Danko's album I also included "Sip the Wine," the only other tune he wrote alone; and "What a Town," which is the opening track.

This is a pretty good album, and I think it offers a little more variety than the two solo albums provide on their own. The only problem with it is the lack of writing credits from Robertson, who had written a bulk of The Band's songs. But since Robertson was the lone holdout when the group reformed in 1983, maybe think of this as a prelude to The Band 2.0.

I named the album Once Upon a Time, the only track that has both Helm's and Danko's vocals. For a cover, I cropped a photo I found on the web of the Bodie, Calif., ghost town.